On the seventh day after the Empress Dowager's funeral, the gate of Guozijian was suddenly opened, and the candidates who had stayed in Beijing for a long time finally entered the examination room of the imperial examination as they wished.

Rows of candidates entered the fish, silent, carrying bamboo baskets in their hands, which contained the four treasures of the study. Everyone was dressed in white robes, and there was quite a scene at the far end.

The examiner* sat upstairs across from the examination booth and watched carefully through the window.

"My lord, that is the son of the Wei family, the richest man in the capital. The deputy chief examiner under his command pointed to Cheng Yong, who walked in with his head down.

* I have long been curious about this character, and the queen came to beg him in order to let this person fall off the list. What he wants to see most now is this student's article. Let's see if it's really a real thing to learn, or if it's a virtual thing.

"Where? Which one?" * Looking left and right, these students are all dressed the same, and they don't know which one the deputy examiner refers to.

"That's, that's the tall one. The deputy chief examiner craned his neck and said.

* Gave him a blank look, what nonsense, looking down from above, you can see who dares to be tall and who is short?* Hit his neck with a ring ruler casually, and said indifferently: "Wait." ”

I don't know how long I waited, but a few examiners took a sip of hot tea.

"My lord, someone has handed in the papers. ”

"What?"

Everyone was stunned, looking out the window, it was just approaching night.

A deputy examiner rubbed his eyes and said to the chief examiners and deputy examiners in the room: "Everyone, I remember correctly, it's only been three hours. ”

* was also stunned for a moment, and slowly put down the teacup in his hand.

Someone smiled nonchalantly: "Eighty percent of them looked at the title on the paper, and they couldn't write a single one, so they were ashamed to leave." ”

* Hook your hand and say, "Bring the roll." ”

The paper was sealed with a name, and his examiner picked it up, took it in his hand, and gently unfolded it, and couldn't help but smile.

Everyone laughed when they saw it, and they all gathered around: "Lord Wang, is this student laughing at his nonsense?"

Bowing his head again, everyone said: "This word is good, but it's a pity that it was Song Huizong who learned it." ”

"How is Song Huizong? His artistic attainments are also at the pinnacle. *laughed.

This word, he is a little familiar, isn't this the exam paper that the queen wants him to scrap?

"It's been written so quickly?" Everyone still didn't believe it: "Back then, Lord Wang, I wrote for four whole hours." ”

* smiled: "The afterlife is terrifying." ”

* Stared at the scroll, read it cursorely, slightly stunned, and read it again before I could read some meaning. Everyone also looked at it with a blank face, and said, "Lord Wang, this volume seems to be a little ...... Obscure. ”

* frowned, read it again, and some doubts popped up in my heart. I read it again with my scalp, only to feel sweating profusely and trembling.

"What a pen. He shouted.

The crowd listened to the compliment, and went to read the paper.

* Sitting in a chair, for a long time, the mouth is still aftertasted.

There is a passage in Fan Jinzhong's example, saying that the examiner read Fan Jin's article three times before he understood his meaning. This volume is even more powerful, and he sweats like rain when he reads it. Sentences are like swords, pens, pens and knives, needles and disadvantages, pushing through the old and bringing forth the new, and splitting him to steal the flesh. * Slumped in the chair, it felt a bit reborn.

"I don't believe that the Shangjia House can teach such students. "* Dao.

"Good article, really good article. After reading it, everyone exclaimed.

* Nodding, no wonder the queen deliberately sent silver to beg this person to fall off the list, it turned out that she had already known that this person was among the best.

"Gentlemen, what should you give to this text?"* asked.

"Champion," someone stroked his beard: "The old man has read the papers many times, and he has never seen such a shocking article, I don't think there will be any other article that can surpass this article." ”

* said: "Put this paper away and compare it with other students." ”

......

Wei Mansion lost the prince, everyone's attention was on Min'er, and no one in the mansion cared about whether Cheng Yong was in high school, in fact, if he didn't get it, it wasn't about his life, and everyone didn't have any expectations. After all, he has been shelving his book for half a year, what can he learn in just a few months?

When Cheng Yong came back, the old lady and Aunt Yu didn't ask him much, and she was afraid that he would be too distracted, and the more she asked, the worse her mood became. But Cheng Yong didn't have so many burdens, and the moment he put down the pen, he was already confident.

"Mother, do you have anything to eat at home?" he asked.

Yu Shi looked up at the sky, and saw that it was only the first night of the exam, so he knew that he couldn't write a few words, and it must be that the paper was too difficult, so he had to hand in the paper in advance.

Aunt Yu said, "Yes, my mother will bring it to you." ”

Cheng Yong saw that Aunt Yu was a little cautious, so he smiled and said, "Mother, what's wrong with you?"

Aunt Yu looked at him and didn't know how to say this, so she said, "Nothing?"

Cheng Yong was a little frightened, couldn't it be that something happened to Xiao Min'er?

"Mother, there won't be an accident at home, right?" asked Cheng Yong.

"No, nothing happened?"

"Where's Dad?" Cheng Yong looked around.

"Go out with your Uncle Lin and find Min'er. She said.

"Uncle Lin, Uncle Lin is back?" Cheng Yong was stunned for a moment: "So, Min'er has news?"

Aunt Yu nodded: "I heard that there are people buying and selling children in Yuexi Prefecture, and the government caught the woman who sold the children, and it was determined that it was Liu Guifei who robbed the child." ”

"What about Min'er?" Cheng Yong hurriedly asked.

"I don't know yet, the child has been sold, Liu Guifei said that she sold the child to a country woman, you Uncle Lin will go and inquire, who knows that the woman has moved away again. ”

Wei Dongshu and Shopkeeper Lin followed several routes explained by their neighbors and visited for a few days, but they did not find a woman who bought a child. In these years, the son is more valuable than money, and the woman who bought the child must have been worried that someone would come to look for the child, so she ran away with the child overnight.

However, there is also a possibility, that is, to go out to avoid the limelight, these years the rich can be cunning, but the poor may not be able to. Maybe she'll hide outside for a while, and when the wind passes, she'll move back in.

Wei Dongshu gave each household ten taels of silver, saying that the child was the young master of their family who had been stolen. Bother everyone, as long as you see that woman coming back, don't detain her. As long as the child can be retrieved, the Wei family is willing to reward one hundred taels.

The west of the country is large, and the traffic is not very convenient, so looking for people here is simply a sea of people.

The door was lightly slammed, and a servant walked in: "Master, there is your letter." ”

Wei Dongshu opened it and looked at it, and there were a few simple sentences inside: Master, I originally wanted to buy a son to prevent old age, but I didn't know that it was your son-in-law. Those who sell children will go to jail, and those who buy children will go to jail. I'm willing to pay back your child, but I don't want to go to jail. If you are willing, ten taels of silver with me, and I will ask my son to return it. If you are interested, you can go to Linchuan Town, West Market, and wait for you.

"There is a whereabout!" Wei Dongshu was happy.

Shopkeeper Lin took the letter and looked at it, and couldn't help but shake his head: "Right now, the government is staring at this matter, she doesn't want to go to prison, I'm afraid she won't be able to do it." ”

Linchuan Town, Yuexi is a small remote place, Wei Dongshu and Lin Shopkeeper went to Xishikou one after the other, and sure enough, there was a shivering woman standing in the cold wind, holding a swaddling baby in her arms.

Wei Dongshu looked at her for a while, and the woman asked timidly, "You are Lord Wei?"

Wei Dongshu nodded, reached out and tore half of the swaddling clothes apart, revealing the child's face, it was really Min'er.

"Lord Wei, Ling Gongzi is fine. She said.

"What about your family?" Wei Dongshu looked around, but didn't see anyone else: "Why are you alone." ”

She shook her head: "No, there is no home, I am the only one left, my husband and son went to the market to sell firewood a few years ago, and they were arrested as laborers, and they never came back." ”

Wei Dongshu was a little stunned, and said, "In this case, why don't you buy it with you?"

"Huh?" she raised her head in surprise, "My lord, what are you buying me as a lonely woman?"

"You took good care of the child, and it doesn't seem that he was cold and hungry, I want to thank you. Wei Dongshu said gently.

"Hey, this is all the way to do, when the man brought the child, the child's little face was blue with hunger, and his little feet were exposed. I used my old clothes and made a new swaddling one. The woman said, stretching her arm forward, and said, "My lord, the child will return you." ”

Wei Dongshu stared at her for a while: "Do you know who this kid is?"

The woman was stunned for a moment: "Isn't it your son-in-law?"

Wei Dongshu shook his head: "Wrong, this is the emperor's dragon son." ”

"Ah?!" the woman looked at Wei Dongshu in shock, her lips trembling.

"This child is the emperor's dragon son, but the emperor does not intend to let him live the life of a prince, the emperor is ready to let him go to Donglin Prefecture and be raised by the Donglin Sect Master, Lord Shangguan. In the future, maybe this child can still sit on the position of the sect master of Donglin. ”

The woman was stunned for a long time, and with her brain, I was afraid that this information would have to be digested for a while: "My lord, what do you mean by telling me?"

Wei Dongshu smiled: "I think you are an honest person, and you are really good to Min'er." The official wants to buy you, be Min'er's personal mother, and accompany Min'er to Donglin Prefecture, and you will take care of his daily life. First, Min'er has someone around to take care of her, and second, yours can live in peace, what do you say?"

"Yes, so willing," the woman leaned down and bowed: "Yun Niang, thank you Lord Wei for your grace, thank you for the emperor's grace." ”

Wei Dongshu hugged the child and asked Shopkeeper Lin to take Yun Niang to the prison to identify, and sure enough, the woman in the prison was Liu Guifei, who sold the child.

Liu Guifei took away the child, and originally wanted to make a comeback, but she didn't want the strict investigation of the government, so the silver ticket she carried with her had to be hidden first, and there was no chance to get it.

Liu Guifei counted the days with her fingers in the prison, waiting for her group of fox friends to come to her, waiting for her, but waiting for an edict from the imperial court, there was only a simple sentence on it - the first emperor and concubine Liu, plotting to make trouble, and the edict gave death.

The poisonous wine in the cup swayed softly, rippling into a dream, the vicissitudes of life, and finally died, or she could meet her Shen'er in another world.